IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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Photograiiiic 
.Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MS80 

(716)  872-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHJVI/ICiVIH 
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microfiches. 


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Couverture  endommagie 


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to  the 


The  in 
possifa 
of  the 
filmini 


Origin 
beginr 
the  las 
sion, 
other 
first  p 
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I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 


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shall 
TINUE 
which 

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differe 
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Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 


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The  copy  filmed  here  hae  been  reproduced  thanks 

L'exemplaire  fllmA  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 

to  the  generosity  of: 

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details 

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modifier 

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The  Images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 

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filmage 

possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 

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of  the  original  copy  and  In  keeping  with  the 

de  la  nettet6  de  l'exemplaire  fiim6,  et  en 

filming  contract  specifications. 

conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

' 

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sion,  or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 

dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 

other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 

d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 

first  page  with  a  printed  or  Illustrated  impres- 

plat, salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 

sion,  and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 

orlginaux  sont  film6s  en  commenpant  par  la 

f 

or  illustrated  impression. 

premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 

6es 

la  dernldre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 

shall  contain  the  symbol  ^^  (meaning  "CON- 

dernldre image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 

TINUED"),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 

cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 

whichever  applies. 

symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

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Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


1 

2 

3 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmds  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  11  est  fiimd  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  k  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
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lllustrent  la  mdthode. 


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IN  RELATION   Tti 


I^BIAX  CTVILIZATIOJ<. 


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BY  THE  DOMESTIC  SECRETARY, OF  THE  UNITED  FOREIGN 


■.^' 


MISSIONARY  SOCIETY, 


Vw/ 


NEW-YORK: 


IV^ 


PRINTED  BY  DANIEL  FANSHAW, 

No.  20  Slote-Lane. 


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LETTER 


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Respected  and  Dear  Sir, 

Having  understood,  by  a  letter  from  Washing- 
ton, that  the  impression  has  been  uttered  on  the  floor 
of  Congress,  that  "  Indian  Civilization  forms  no  part 
of  the  objects  of  Missionary  Institutions,"  and  that 
'^the  establishments  at  Brainerd  and  Elliot  are  a 
miserable  farce,"  I  would  respectfully  invite  your  at- 
tention, for  a  moment,  to  the  following  facts  and  re- 
marks. 

The  objects  of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety, are  to  civilize  and  christianize  the  American 
Indians ;  and  the  Managers  are  convinced,  from  their 
own  experience,  as  well  as  that  of  kindred  Institu- 
tions, that  each  of  these  objects  can  be  more  easily 
and  successfully  attained,  when  combined,  than  when 
separately  attempted.  The  history  of  eighteen  centu- 
ries testifies,  that  no  pagan  nation  ever  became  civi- 
lized to  any  important  degree,  until  it  had  renounced 
its  idols,  and  abandoned  the  whole  train  of  supersti- 
tious rites  connected  with  its  idolatrous  worship ;  and 
that  no  one  ever  became  evangelized  without  acquir- 
ing, in  some  measure,  the  arts  and  habits  of  civilized 
life.  Whether  the  object,  therefore,  be  to  civilize  or 
christianize,  both  must  be  carried  on  with  an  equal 


unci  united  effort.  Under  the  impression  of  these 
truths,  the  Board,  in  forming  their  General  Principles, 
or  System  of  Operations,  combined  the  two  objects, 
as  you  will  evidently  perceive,  by  a  perusal  of  the  fol- 
lowing sections : 

"  First.  At  all  the  Missionary  Stations  under  the 
care  of  this  Board,  it  shall  be  the  object  to  promote, 
not  only  the  knowledge  of  Christianity,  but  also  the 
arts  of  civilized  life.  Besides  the  branches  of  learn- 
ing taught  in  common  schools,  the  boys  shall  be  in- 
structed in  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts;  and  the 
girls  in  spinning,  weaving,  sewing,  knitting,  and  house- 
hold business. 

"  Second.  In  every  establishment,  it  is  expcdientthat 
there  be  a  Superintendent  and  an  Assistant,  who  shall 
be  Ministers  of  the  Gospel :  a  Schoolmaster,  a  Far- 
mer, a  Blacksmith,  a  Carpenter,  and  such  other  me- 
chanics as  shall  be  found  necessary,  all  of  whom  shall 
come  under  the  general  denomination  of  Missionaries. 
The  number  shall  be  increased  as  occasion  shall  re- 
quire. At  every  station  there  shall  be  either  a  Phy- 
sician, or  a  person  acquainted  with  the  practice  of 
physic." 

There  are  eight  other  sections,  all  of  which  are  con- 
formable to  the  two  I  have  quoted. 

The  substance  of  these  General  Principles  was  com- 
municated to  the  public  in  the  third  Annual  Report. 
In  the  same  Report,  it  was  stated,  that  in  the  Mission 
family  which  had  just  gone  to  the  Osages  of  the  Ar- 
kansaw,  there  were  two  Clergymen,  one  Physician, 
two  Teachers,  two  Farmers,  a  Carpenter,  and  a  Black- 
smith. 

The  fourth  Report,  in  relation  to  the  family  which 


o 


went  out  last  Spring  to  the  Osages  ot*  the  Missouri, 
states  as  follows : 

"  Besides  the  Superintendent  and  Assistant,  there 
are  among  the  males  of  the  family,  a  Minister  of  the 
Gospel,  who  goes  out  as  a  Teacher,  with  the  privilege 
of  preaching  whenever  his  health  will  permit,  and  the 
circumstances  of  the  Mission  require ;  a  regularly  edu- 
cated Physician  and  Surgeon ;  a  person  capable  of 
manufacturing  machinery,  performing  most  kinds  of 
blacksmith's  work,  and  teaching  sacred  music  ;  a  Car- 
penter and  Millwright,  a  Shoemaker,  a  Waggofima'ver, 
and  two  Farmers.  The  females,  collectively,  are  qua- 
lified to  teach  all  the  branches  of  industry  pursued  by 
that  sex  in  this  country  ;  most  of  them  have  had  con- 
siderable experience  in  teaching  common  schools  ;  and 
two  or  three  have  taught  in  seminaries  of  a  higher 
order." 

In  speaking  of  the  Mission  at  Tuscarora,  the  same 
report  says : 

"  The  whole  of  the  nation  now  residing  at  Tusca- 
rora, have  taken  a  decided  stand  in  favour  of  the  Chris- 
tian Religion.  They  have,  already,  made  considera- 
ble progress  in  acquiring  the  arts  and  habits  of  civi- 
lized life.  Having,  in  a  great  measure,  abandoned  the 
chace  as  the  means  of  subsistence  ;  they  depend,  for 
their  support,  principally  upon  the  produce  of  their 
soil.  They  occupy  comfortable  dwellings;  and  in 
passing  through  their  village,  you  behold  waggons, 
ploughs,  and  other  implements  of  husbandry,  arranged 
around  their  doors.  Some  of  their  youth  have  made 
considerable  proficiency  in  the  elementary  branches  of 
an  English  education.  One  of  their  young  men,  hope- 
fully pious,  and  of  promising  talents,  is  stationed  at 
a  Seminary  in  this  city  ;  and  another,  perhaps  equally 


.u 


pious  and  promising,  at  the  Foreign  Mission  School,  iu 
Connecticut. 

<<  From  our  Missionary  at  this  station,  we  learn  that 
the  Indians  had  recently  manifested  more  than  ordina- 
ry solicitude  for  the  general  improvement  of  their  vil- 
lage and  their  nation.  Among  other  efforts  for  this  ob- 
ject, they  are  preparing  to  erect  a  new  Council-House 
and  Church,  of  larger  dimensions,  and  of  more  con- 
venient structure,  than  the  one  they  now  occupy.  They 
have  already  furnished  all  the  timber  and  boards  re- 
quired for  the  building ;  and  they  hope  to  finish  it 
early  in  the  ensuing  summer. 

**  A  school  for  the  children  of  the  tribe  has  been 
taught  for  several  years  by  the  Missionary  and  his  wife. 
As  an  additional  Teacher,  the  Board  have  lately  ap- 
pointed Miss  Elizabeth  L.  Brown,  of  Homer,  in  the 
county  of  Courtland.  She  will  probably  commence  her 
labours  in  the  course  of  the  present  month;  and  it  will 
be  her  particular  duty  to  instruct  the  young  females  of 
the  nation  in  the  arts  of  sewing,  knitting,  spinning  and 
weaving." 

In  relation  to  the  Seneca  station,  the  same  report 
remarks : 

"The  property  of  the  Board  in  the  Seneca  village, 
consists  of  two  dwelling  houses  and  a  school  house,  to- 
gether with  the  use,  for  an  indefinite  period,  of  the 
ground  on  which  they  are  erected.  It  is  in  contem- 
plation to  build  an  addition  to  the  house  now  occupied 
by  Mr.  Young,  for  the  purpose  of  accommodating  the 
minister,  and  of  embodying  many  of  the  Indian  chil- 
dren in  the  Missionary  family.  It  is  also  in  contem- 
plation to  erect  a  workshop  within  an  enclosure,  of  suf- 
ficient extent  for  the  deposit  of  boards  and  timber ; 
to  furnish  the  necessary  tools ;  and  to  give  to  the  na** 


tion  free  access  to  the  establishment,  for  the  object 
of  making  and  repairing  their  farming  utensils  and 
household  furniture." 

I  might  easily  multiply  these  extracts;  but  enough 
have  been  given  to  show  in  the  first  place,  that  "  Indian 
Civilization^^  constitutes  a  leading  object  of  this  Socie- 
ty, and  one,  of  which  the  Managers  can  never  lose 
sight ;  and  in  the  second  place,  that  this  subject  forms 
a  prominent  topic  In  our  Annual  Reports.  When  the 
last  Report  was  written,  it  was  not  officially  known  to 
the  Board  that  the  Mission  sent  out  to  the  Osages  of 
the  Arkansaw  had  arrived  at  their  destined  station ; 
and  the  numerous  family,  bound  to  the  Osages  of  the 
Missouri,  had  not  yet  embarked  at  Pittsburgh.  Of 
course,  no  account  could  have  been  given  of  the  pro- 
gress of  civilization  among  those  tribes.  But  the  Mis- 
sions among  the  Tuscarora  and  Seneca  tribes,  are  of 
longer  standing ;  and  to  strangers  and  others  who  have 
visited  them,  it  is  a  matter  of  surprise,  that  they  should 
have  made  such  rapid  progress  in  laying  aside  their 
savage  customs,  and  a(;quiring  the  habits,  arts,  and 
industry  of  civilized  life.  During  the  last  summer, 
they  were  visited  by  two  very  resjjectable  Gentlemen 
(a  Physician  and  a  Merchant)  and  several  [jadies  from 
Charleston,  S.  C.  w  ho  were  highly  gralified  with  the 
good  order  of  the  schools,  the  proficiency  of  the  scho- 
lars, and  the  general  state  of  civilization  and  improve- 
ment among  the  Indians.  They  left  behind  them,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Mission,  a  handsome  donation,  as  a 
testimonial  of  the  gratification  they  had  received ;  and 
took  with  them  to  Charleston  a  number  of  elegant 
specimens  of  penmanship  from  the  hands  of  the  Indian 
youth.  While  passing  through  this  city,  one  of  the 
Gentlemen  called  on  me  as  the  official  organ  of  our 


:; 


■4- 


society,  and  expressed  the  lively  sense  which  he  and 
his  whole  party  entertained  of  the  usefulness  of  our 
operations  amon;j;  those  irilies. 

At  Tuscarora  there  is  a  regularly  organized  Church, 
which  contains  twcntif-thnr.  Indian  eoniinunicants, 
whose  life  and  convrrsHtion  correspond  with  their  reli- 
gious profession.  Our  Missionary  in  speaking  of  this 
tribe,  says — <♦  On  some  accounts,  this  poor  people  are 
superior  to  any  villa|i;e  of  white  inhabitants,  with 
which  1  am  acquainted.  The  sabbath  is  almost  uni- 
versally regarded  and  honoured  among  them.  There 
is  not  a  village  in  the  State,  where  so  large  a  propor- 
tion of  the  heads  of  families  punctually  attend  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel." — Again — *<  There  appears 
to  be  among  these  Indians  an  increasing  sense  of  the 
importance  of  education  and  industry.  A  large  pro- 
portion of  the  families  are  industrious.  During  the 
past  winter,  the  children  have  been  punctual  in  their 
attendance  at  school,  and  have  made  very  encourag- 
ing progress." 

Thevisitto  Brainerd  and  EHiot,by  a  member  of  Con- 
gress, (as  stated  in  the  letter  which  has  called  forth  these 
remarks,^  was  probably  made  in  the  infancy  of  that 
Establishment.  The  uniform  testimony,  given  by  the 
Missionaries,  and  by  gentlemen  who  have  occasion- 
ally visited  those  Stations,  is  of  a  very  different  cha- 
racter. They  concur  in  representing  those  nations  as 
making  great  and  rapid  improvement  in  civilization. 
An  extract  or  two  from  the  documents  which  first 
come  to  hand,  will  sufficiently  support  this  remark. 
The  journal  of  the  Mission  at  Brainerd,  under  date  of 
the  1st  of  November,  1820,  presents  the  following 
pleasing  intelligence : 

<^  The  Council  (of  Indian  Chiefs)  have  made  a  law 


9 


to  compel  parents  to  keep  their  children  at  school, 
when  once  entered,  until  they  have  finished  thi;ir  edu- 
cation, or  to  pay  all  expense  for  clothing,  board,  and 
tuition.  They  have  also  given  the  Superintendents  of 
each  Mission  authority  to  take  out  of  their  schools 
such  children  as  they  shall  think  proper,  and,  with  the 
consent  of  their  parents,  put  them  to  such  trades  as 
are  attached  to  their  Missions ;  and,  when  such  chil- 
dren have  learned  a  trade,  they  are  to  be  furnished 
with  a  set  of  tools  at  the  expense  of  the  nation.       <m 

*<  They  have  also  divided  their  country  into  eight 
districts  or  counties ;  laid  a  tax  on  the  people  to  build 
a  Court  House  in  each  of  these  counties,  and  appoint- 
ed four  Circuit  Judges.  The  Cherokees  are  rapidly 
adopting  the  laws  and  manners  of  the  whites.  They 
appear  to  advance  in  civilization,  just  in  proportion 
to  their  knowledge  of  the  Gospel.  It,  therefore,  be- 
comes all,  who  desire  the  civilization  of  the  Indians, 
to  do  what  they  can  to  send  the  Gospel  among  them." 

In  the  Spring  of  1820,  Adam  Hodgson,  £sq.  a  dis- 
tinguished merchant  of  Liverpool,  visited  Elliot  and 
Brainerd,  on  a  journey  from  Natchez  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi, to  Richmond  in  Virginia.  An  account  of  his 
journey,  I  find  in  a  London  publication  now  before 
me,  from  which,  I  beg  leave  to  present  a  few  passages, 
that  you  may  learn  the  opinion  of  an  intelligent  fo- 
reign traveller,  upon  the  subject  now  in  question.  Af- 
ter mentioning  his  arrival  at  Elliot,  he  adds — 

"  Soon  after  my  arrival,  we  proceeded  to  the  school, 
just  as  a  half  breed,  who  has  taken  great  interest  in  it, 
was  preparing  to  give  the  children  '  a  Talk,'  previous 
to  returning  home,  60  miles  distant.  He  is  a  very  in- 
fluential Chief,  and  a  man  of  comprehensive  views. 
He  first  translated  into  Choctaw,  a  letter  to  the  chil- 


10 


dren,  from  some  benevolent  friends  in  the  North,  who 
had  sent  it  with  a  present  of  a  box  of  clothes.  He 
then  gave  them  a  long  address  in  Choctaw. 

"  As  soon  as  the  school  was  over,  the  boys  repaired 
to  their  agricultural  labours;  their  instructor  working 
with  them,  and  communicating  information  in  the 
most  affectionate  manner :  the  girls  proceeded  to  their 
sewing  and  domestic  employments,  under  the  l^'^'^sion- 
ary  sisters.  They  were  afterwards  at  liberty,  tin  the 
supper-bell  rang,  when  we  all  sat  down  together  to 
bread  and  milk,  and  various  preparations  of  Indian 
corn ;  the  Missionaries  presiding  at  the  different  tables, 
and  confining  themselves,  as  is  their  custom  except  in 
case  of  sickness,  to  precisely  the  same  food  as  the 
scholars.  After  supper,  a  chapter  in  the  Bible  was 
read,  with  Scott's  Practical  Observations.  This  was 
followed  by  singing  and  prayer ;  and,  then,  all  retired 
to  their  little  rooms,  in  their  log  cabins. 

"  In  the  morning,  at  day-light,  the  boys  were  at 
their  agriculture,  and  the  girls  at  their  domestic  em- 
ployments. About  7  o'clock  we  assembled  for  read- 
ing, singing,  and  prayer ;  and  soon  afterward  for 
breakfast.  After  an  interval  for  play,  the  school  open- 
ed with  prayer  and  singing,  a  chapter  in  the  Bible, 
and  examination  on  the  subject  of  the  chapter  of  the 
preceding  day.  The  children  then  proceeded  to  read- 
ing, writing,  accounts,  and  English  Grammar,  on  a 
modification  of  the  British  system.  The  Instructors 
say  they  never  knew  white  children  learn  with  so 
much  facility ;  and  <he  specimens  of  writing  exhibited 
unequivocal  proofs  of  rapid  progress.  Many  spoke 
English  very  well. 

"The  immediate  object  of  the  settlement  of  Elliot, 
is,  the  religious  instruction  of  the  Indians.     The  Mis- 


t 


11 


sionaries  are,  however,  aware  that  this  must  necessa» 
rily  be  preceded  or  accompanied  by  their  civilization ; 
and  that  mere  preaching  to  the  adult  Indians,  though 
partially  beneficial  to  the  present  generation,  would 
not  probably  be  attended  with  any  general,  or  perma- 
nent results.  Wliilo,  therefore,  the  religious  interests 
of  the  children  arc  the  objects  nearest  to  their  hearts, 
they  are  anxious  to  put  them  in  possession  of  those 
qualifications  which  may  secure  to  them  an  important 
influence  in  the  councils  of  their  nation,  and  enable 
them  gradually  to  induce  their  roaming  brethren  to 
abandon  their  erratic  habits  for  the  occupations  of  ci- 
vilized life.  The  general  feelings  of  the  nation,  at  this 
moment  are  most  auspicious  to  their  undertaking. 
The  community  at  large  is  most  solicitous  for  civili- 
zation. In  this  they  have  made  some  progress  ;  ma- 
ny of  them  growing  cotton,  and  spinning,  and  wea- 
ving it  into  coarse  clothing. 

"  Of  the  three  districts  or  towns  into  which  its  13 
or  20,000  souls  are  divided,  one  has  appropriated  to 
the  use  of  schools  its  annuity  for  seventeen  years,  of 
2000  Dollars  per  annum,  received  from  the  United 
States  for  ceded  lands;  another,  its  annuity  of  IQOO 
Dollars  per  annum,  with  the  prospect  of  1000  more  ; 
and  one  has  requested  the  United  States,  not  only  to 
forbid  the  introduction  of  ammunition  into  the  nation, 
that  the  hunter  may  be  compelled  to  work,  but  to 
send  their  annuity  in  implements  of  husbandry.  At  a 
recen^^  General  Council  of  the  Chiefs,  1300  Dollars  in 
money,  and  upwards  of  eighty  cows  and  calves,  were 
subscribed  for  the  use  of  schools,  and  the  total  contri- 
bution of  the  Choctaws  to  this  object  exceeds  70,000 
Dollars. 

^*  I  was  highly  gratified  by  my  visit  to  Elliot — this 


,S^ 


12 


garden  in  a  mordl  wilderness ;  and  was  pleased  witii 
the  opportunity  of  seeing  a  Missionary  settlement  in 
its  infant  state,  before  the  wounds  of  recent  separation 
from  kindred  and  friends  had  ceased  to  bleed,  and 
habit  had  rendered  the  Missionaries  familiar  with  the 
peculiarities  of  their  novel  situation. 

<<  The  sight  of  the  children,  also,  many  of  them  still 
in  Indian  costume,  was  most  interesting.  I  could  not 
help  imagining,  that,  before  me,  might  be  some  Alfred 
of  this  Western  world,  the  future  founder  of  Institu- 
tions which  were  to  enlighten  and  civilize  his  coun- 
try— some  Choctaw  Swartz,  or  Elliot,  destined  to  dis- 
seminate the  blessings  of  Christianity,  and  refinement, 
from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific,  from  the  Gulph 
of  Mexico  to  the  Frozen  Sea.  I  contrasted  them  in 
their  social,  their  moral,  and  their  religious  condition, 
with  the  straggling  hunters,  and  their  painted  faces, 
who,  occasionally  stared  through  the  windows;  or, 
with  the  half-naked  savages  of  another  tribe,  whom  we 
had  seen  in  the  forests  a  iew  nights  before,  dancing 
round  their  midnight  6res,  with  their  tomahawks,  and 
scalping  knives,  rending  the  air  with  their  fierce  war- 
whoop,  or  making  the  woods  thrill  with  their  savage 
yells.  But  they  form  a  yet  stronger  contrast  with  the 
poor  Indians  whom  we  had  seen  on  the  frontier — cor- 
rupted, degraded,  and  debased  by  their  intercourse 
with  English,  Irish,  or  American  Traders." 

I  might,  Sir,  conduct  you  with  our  interesting  tra- 
veller, from  Elliot  to  Brainerd,  and  multiply  quota- 
tions to  the  same  general  purport ;  but,  more  than 
enough,  I  am  sensible,  has  already  been  given,  to  con- 
vince a  gentleman  of  your  humanity  and  candour,  not 
only,  that  the  disinterested  efforts  which  are  now  ma- 
king to  civilize  and  christianize  the  Indians  of  our 


\3 


country,  deserve  not  the  opp.  atrium  which  is  said  to 
have  been  cast  upon  them,  but,  that  they  merit  the  ap- 
probation, and  the  support  of  the  community.  The  pre- 
sent system  of  combining  the  two  objects  of  civilizing 
and  christianizing  the  Indian  Tribes,  is  already  **  in 
the  full  tide  of  successful  experiment ;"  and,  I  cannot 
but  deeply  regret,  that  a  measure  should  find  its  advo- 
cates in  Congress,  which  appears  to  be  calculated  to 
give  a  powerful  check,  if  not  to  erect  an  insurmounta- 
ble barrier,  to  both. 

Upon  this  country,  Sir,  rests  a  responsibility,  in 
relation  to  the  Indian  Tribes,  of  deep  and  tremen- 
dous import.  ^'  Sovereigns  from  time  immemorial 
of  the  interminable  forests,  which  overshadow  this 
vast  Continent,  this  injured  race  have  gradually 
been  driven,  by  the  white  usurpers  of  their  soil,  with- 
in the  limits  of  their  present  precarious  posses- 
sions. One  after  another  of  their  favourite  rivers  has 
been  reluctantly  abandoned,  until  the  range  of  the 
hunter  is  bounded  by  lines  prescribed  by  his  invader, 
and  the  independence  of  the  warrior  is  no  more.  Of 
the  innumerable  Tribes,  which,  a  few  centuries  since, 
roamed,  fearless  and  independent,  in  their  native  fo- 
rests, how  many  have  been  swept  into  oblivion,  and 
are  with  the  generations  before  the  flood !  Of  others,  not 
a  trace  remains  but  in  tradition,  or  in  the  person  of 
some  solitary  wanderer,  the  last  of  his  Tribe,  who 
hovers  like  a  ghost  among  the  sepulchres  of  his  fa- 
thers— a  spark  still  faintly  glimmering  in  the  ashes  of 
an  extinguished  race."  Alas !  Sir,  shall  the  sword  of 
avarice,  or  the  strong  arm  of  civilized  power,  still  pur- 
sue this  unhappy  people  ?  Shall  the  unceasing  acd  re- 
lentless force  of  emigration  drive  them  from  forest  to 
forest,  until  the  last  remnant,  struggling  for  existence, 


'*'..'V  ?,■■ 


,^.^ 


*ttmmmdm^ll$mm^^ 


ky)a«aiiiMSU 


C\ 


14 


shall  fall  on  the  verge  of  the  Western  Ocean,  or  perish 
in  its  flood  !  Will  not  the  voice  of  humanity  prompt  us 
to  arrest  this  unremitting  progress  of  extermination  ? 
Does  not  the  glory  of  our  country  require,  that  we  ex- 
tend to  those  who  still  survive,  the  hand  of  friendship, 
convey  to  them  the  blessings  of  social  life,  and  raise 
them  to  a  high  and  happy  destiny  ?  And  how,  Sir, 
shall  this  be  accomplished  ?  Break  down  the  restric- 
tions which  have  happily  been  placed  upon  Indian 
trade,  and  you  will  let  loose  upon  the  untutored  te- 
nants of  the  wilderness,  a  horde  of  selfish  and  unprin- 
cipled adventurers,  to  pollute,  debase,  deceive,  and 
destroy.  But,  continue  and  enforce  those  restric- 
tions—encourage and  aid  the  Missionary  Institutions 
of  our  country,  and  you  will  find  a  host  of  pious  minis- 
ters, teachers,  farmers,  and  mechanics,  who  will  go 
forth  to  the  work  of  civilizing  the  Indians,  with  no 
other  motive  than  that  of  promoting  their  temporal 
and  eternal  benefit,  and  expecting  and  wishing  no 
earthly  remuneration  for  their  privations  and  their 
toils.  Adopt  this  course,  and  you  will  have  Agents 
who  will  carry  on  the  noble  designs  of  the  government 
in  relation  to  the  Indian  Tribes,  with  a  spirit  of  disin- 
terestedness, perseverance,  and  fidelity,  which,  in  any 
other  way,  or  on  any  other  principle,  cannot  be  found. 
Adopt  this  course,  and  with  cheering  hope  you  may 
look  forward  to  the  period,  when  the  savage  shall  be 
converted  into  the  citizen  ;  when  the  hunter  shall  be 
changed  to  the  agriculturalist  or  the  mechanic;  when 
the  farm,  the  workshop,  the  school-house,  and  the 
church,  shall  adorn  every  Indian  village;  when  the 
fruits  of  industry,  good  order,  and  sound  morals,  shall 
bless  every  Indian  dwelling ;  and  when,  throughout 
the  vast  range  of  country  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 


/■?''»>» 


i 


16 


Pacific,  the  red  man  and  the  white  man  shall  every 
where  be  found,  mingling  in  the  same  pursuits,  cherish- 
ing the  same  benevolent  and  friendly  views,  fellow- 
citizens  of  the  same  civil  and  religious  community,  and 
fellow-heirs  to  an  eternal  inheritance  in  the  kingdom 
of  glory. 

I  am,  Sir,  very  respectfully,  Your's,  &c. 

Z.  Lewis, 

Domestic  Secretary  of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 

..  M.       ^.^-         .,-  .,j-.,  ,  ,  -       .  ...„•■  .        .  ...V<ii 


